St Kentigern College Kicked Out Of Top Rugby Competition

The https://www.nzherald.co.nz reported that the other schools in Auckland premier schoolboy rugby competition decided to boycott St Kentigern College during the upcoming 2019 competition as talks between the rest and St Kentigern's failed regarding the recruitment policy of St Kents.

St Kentigern won 11 from 11 in the Auckland 1A competition with the co-accused Kings College ended 3rd with a mere one point between them and second-placed Sacred Heart College.

Ruggas.co.za has since learnt that St Kentigern's has requested an investigation into the recruitment practices of schools that is set now to boycott them for the same sins. The investigation will now start as soon as possible.

The full article as published by NZ Herald:

The ethical quagmire that is schoolboy rugby has been further muddied with Auckland powerhouse St Kentigern College being excluded from next year's Auckland 1A First XV competition.

The stunning turn of events has seen a coalition of schools agree to boycott playing St Kents because of their recruitment policy that has been deemed morally and ethically reprehensible by rival schools.

The fee-paying independent school admitted to recruiting five senior elite players from rival 1st XVs to bolster their squad for 2019.

The Herald understands King's College, another independent fee-paying school, was also put on notice but they have agreed to enact changes to their rugby programme.

"It's a serious issue and it needed a serious response," Mount Albert Grammar School principal Patrick Drumm said. "We needed to take a strong leadership stand as a recruitment strategy like this is not what school sport should be about.

"The integrity and credibility of the competition are challenged by targeting elite players from around the country. We felt the time was right to try to have a moral and ethical discussion and while we had a positive meeting with King's that wasn't the case with St Kents."

The rival principals wrote to Head of St Kentigern College David Hodge on three occasions on November 5, November 26 and as recently as Monday. On each occasion, they have been disappointed with the response.

The initial letters invited St Kents to bind themselves to new principles and codes around the recruitment of talent. The last letter was more strident.

"The 10 schools who have led the conversations with you are now of the view that they have given you fair opportunity to respond," the letter states. "It is the immediate decision of each of our schools that in 2019 our 1st XV rugby teams will not now compete against St Kentigern College."

Hodge was contacted for comment but was not available for immediate comment.